Last Love
by oh-klaroline
Summary: "I intend to be your last." A decade has passed since Klaus made his promise, and Caroline has finally come to collect. Everything has fallen into place, until Klaus realizes that there's more to Caroline's appearance in New Orleans than it seems. An ongoing Klaroline AU that expands beyond the current TVD/TO universe.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Started writing this after the season 4 finale, so it's canon compliant from that point (ish). I basically made up most of the TO stuff, like character personalities, etc. not only because I wrote this before the show came out, but also because I wanted to.**

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**Chapter 1**

She comes to him after almost a decade since the last time they saw each other, carrying one small bag and the bright smile he's always loved. He was hoping to see her sooner, but expected her to come a lot later, so he is more than ecstatic when he answers that knock on the door in the middle of the night.

"Hi_," _she says shyly, her green eyes boring intently into his blue ones.

"Caroline_," _he whispers, knowing the shock will not fully mask the delight in his face.

"Niklaus_,"_ she answers jokingly, feigning a serious look and putting her hand on her hip. "Aren't you going to invite me in?_"_He takes this time to recover, stepping back and opening the door wider as he gestures for her to enter.

"You know an invitation is not necessary, love, or you haven't been paying any attention these past few years._"_

He'd kept his distance from her, all those years he'd spent in New Orleans while she'd traveled the world, but he had kept tabs on her, and sent her small gifts and letters. He was very old fashioned that way, pretending this whole time was a courtship conducted across the seas. He'd been over the moon (pun _very much_ intended) each time she'd sent a thank you message and a smiley face, but he'd never pushed any further than that. He'd decided he wouldn't be with her unless she came to the decision all on her own, unless she'd seen the world and decided next to him was where she wanted to be after all. _Then_ he'd show her the world through his eyes, lavish her with all the things his fingers itched to send her way, take her to the out-of-the-way corners that hid genuine beauty that matched her own. He'd make her see the world the same way he'd always seen her.

So he stayed put in New Orleans, where his attention was thankfully diverted from each passing day that she stayed away. Battles were fought, wars won, new alliances formed and old ones shattered. He'd had his fun, hands soaked in blood like they always were, needs met by various women throughout the decade. None of those women held his interest for more than a day. He already knew no one would captivate him again the way Caroline did, but he was only a man and he needed that itch scratched every now and then. None of it changed the way he felt about her, of course, none of it changed the plans he'd made for her.

And now here she is, looking even better than he remembers, perhaps because of that bag in her hand and what it means now that she is at his door with it. He watches her face as she walks across the threshold and her eyes take in their surroundings. A portrait of his family hangs on the wall across the room, surrounded by landscapes he had painted over the years. Rome. Paris. Tokyo. He wonders if she will understand their significance.

He closes the door as she drops her bag by her feet and looks up at the ceiling, where an elaborate chandelier glistens and winks at them. She looks at him and raises her eyebrows, making him chuckle.

"Well, that's shiny," she teases, pointing her slender finger at the ceiling.

"You'd rather I lit up the place with gas lamps and torches?_"_ he asks, moving to stand next to her. "That could be arranged, but I imagine it would get very hot in here."

She rolls her eyes at him in that very Caroline Forbes kind of way, and it's as if all those years apart had never been, as if they were back in Mystic Falls, standing on opposite sides of an invisible barrier they'd made up. Like her friends were plotting against him again, and she was being sent as a very efficient distraction to keep him occupied. The devilish grin that lights up his face feels all too familiar as well.

"So what brings you to my part of the world, love?" he asks, bending down and grabbing her bag from the floor.

"Well, I thought I had an open invitation," she answers, turning around to inspect the room further. "See. I _do_ pay attention, you know?"

"That you do, Caroline," he smiles, grateful for the chance to watch her again as she concentrates on something else. He follows her gaze and purses his lips, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"Is that..?" she starts, walking into the sitting room to get a closer look at the painting that hangs above the fireplace.

He'd done it a few years after her graduation, just to see if he could still paint the scene from memory. Obviously, he could. It was of her during the ball his mother held in Mystic Falls, that time he'd found her outside, gazing at a horse. Unlike the sketch he'd given her, he chose to paint the scene that caught his breath as he walked closer to her from the opposite side: Caroline looking like a goddess even with her back turned, wind blowing loose golden curls softly in the night, figure bathed in moon light. To anyone else, it was just a painting of a woman and a horse on a moonlit night; to him it was one of his most beautiful memories spilled on to a canvas.

He stays rooted to the spot, seriously contemplating running out of the door. He doesn't know what it is that turns him into a child whenever he's around Caroline. He supposes it's vulnerability that causes it. He watches as she slowly turns around to face him, brows furrowed and lower lip captured by her teeth. He holds his breath as she stalks across the room towards him, and he would've taken cover had his body remembered how to function, but his feet stay glued to the floor.

For a moment the tear that drops from her eye worries him, but she suddenly flings herself at him just as it falls, and he gets distracted. Distracted by her hands in his hair as they pull him closer, by her lips on his mouth as they devour him. It takes him a few seconds before he manages to drop the bag on the floor and wrap his arms around her waist, mentally cursing whoever would eventually wake him from what would undoubtedly turn out to be a dream.

The years have not prepared him enough for this, kissing her in his own body. He had foolishly thought that it wouldn't be that different from kissing her in Tyler's body, but he was wrong. It's as if she fitted perfectly into him, as if they were one entity that had been broken apart in the past, two pieces of a puzzle long forgotten.

"_Klaus," _she whispers against his lips, and all the gates he has built in the past, all the walls he has hidden behind in fear comes crumbling down around them. In that one second when she says his name as if he is all that she wants, anyone could've walked up and tore out his heart.

Before he can talk his way out of it, he picks her up and guides her legs around his waist, and he smiles in triumph when she locks her ankles behind his back. In a flash they're in his room, and she's on his bed, and he's hovering over her, resting on his elbows as he gazes down at her. He's wasting precious time, if this is indeed a dream, but it's hard to look away from her when she's looking at him like that. He licks his lips, as his eyes search her face and they register her impatience.

Slowly, he bends down and lightly grazes her lips with his, pulling back just as she makes to grab his neck. He then trails light kisses along her jaw, down to her neck where he is content to stay for the rest of his existence. Her smell is intoxicating, the fast _thump thump thump_ of her pulse teasing him to bite. He makes his way to her collarbone where he sucks gently against her skin, causing her to arch her back and groan out his name. He feels her nails scratch at his scalp as she pulls him closer, fingers grabbing his brown curls to pull his face back up and meeting his mouth half way.

Then he is on his back, and she is straddling him and he is losing his mind as she moves her hips against his, causing the most delicious friction in all the right places. He finds himself reaching up to follow her mouth as she sits up, but she pushes him back on the bed, earning herself another devilish smirk as he watches her grab the bottom of her dress and pull it up over her head.

_Unbelievably beautiful.__  
_  
Then her hands are on his shirt, and he stretches his arms up without even thinking about it, and then he is shirtless, and she is chucking the shirt to the floor next to her dress. Briefly, he thinks how perfectly it looks on his floor, the flimsy little sundress all bunched up and forgotten next to his bed, but she is on top of him again, his bare chest meeting hers and they are kissing, and he just can't think anymore.

They lie naked on his bed, legs tangled and feeling thoroughly spent. Her head rests on his chest as his fingers trail little circles on her shoulder. He smiles slowly when he feels her sigh against him, wrapping her arm around his waist and pulling him closer. He looks down at her long porcelain body against his, and he has to resist the urge to pinch himself.

"That was _definitely_ worth the decade-long wait," he whispers, kissing the top of her head. "I may not want to do anything else again for another week."

"Just a week?" she asks, looking up at him and resting her chin on her hand that's on his chest.

"Well, I imagine we'd need to eat eventually," he smiles, running his hand lightly along her back as he closes his eyes. "Just to get our strength back."

"Weak," she teases, and he practically hears her smirk in that one word.

And then he can feel her hand slowly traveling down his body, causing his eyes to pop back open. He looks down to see her smiling impishly at him, one eyebrow raised as if in challenge. He would've raised his in answer as well, but her hand has found its target, and all he can do is bite his lip and furrow his brow as she strokes him languidly. He feels his hips respond to her strokes, his body attentive and ready again, just like that. He grabs her head and crushes their mouths together, moaning as she continues to pump him slowly.

"Caroline," he grunts, biting at her bottom lip. "Caroline. Caroline, what are you doing to me?" It's all he can manage, as her hand starts moving faster, and she smiles against his lips.

"All the things I should've done years ago," she whispers.

Klaus chuckles as he walks down the stairs and sees Caroline's bag at the bottom of the stairs where he dropped it last night. He picks it up and heads to the kitchen, where he intends to make her breakfast.

He pauses to listen, making sure she is still asleep upstairs where he left her. He couldn't sleep himself, even though he was pretty tired from their exploits. He isn't sure if it's his disbelief and excitement over finally having her here, or his fear that she might be gone when he wakes up.

Her bag pops open as he places it on the kitchen counter, and something inside catches his attention. He'd expected the bag to contain clothes, toiletries and whatever things girls usually need, but Caroline has packed small glass jars stoppered with corks. He picks one up to inspect it and it's filled with some dry brown herb he doesn't immediately recognize. The jar has a label written in what he recognizes as Caroline's handwriting that reads '_Masterwort'._ He takes another jar out, this one containing small brown round herbs that look like small versions of those cocoa balls you use to make hot chocolate with. The label reads '_Kouroubaga_'_. _Soon all the bottles are out, all labeled with names he hasn't encountered before. _Sticklewort. Bechan. Lorbeer. Bugbane._

What is Caroline doing with all these strange herbs? Vampires can't exactly practice witchcraft, he knows that for sure. He opens the bag further, knowing full well that he is invading her privacy, and finds a small notebook inside. Written on the first page is what seems to be a recipe, the names of the herbs in the jars listed with measurements next to them. Instructions follow the ingredients, but he doesn't read them; he knows he will not understand it anyway. Unlike the labels on the jars, Caroline did not write this recipe herself. The handwriting is sloppy, as if it was written in haste.

The next page contains a note in the same hand.

_Caroline, these should help you out. Ask around Qena, make sure you get everything I listed, and STOCK UP ON THEM. I still wish you'd come home and let me help you before you went to Klaus, though. You know how to reach me. -B_Bonnie Bennett. Of course. Who else but her best friend would write a witchy recipe for Caroline? For a moment he sees red, feels like a fool once again. Have they, in fact, not left Mystic Falls behind them? Is she still plotting with her friends against him? He would have smashed the bottles and burnt its contents had it not been for the tiny hope he always stupidly holds on to when it comes to Caroline. Instead, he grabs his phone and sends a message to one of his newly acquired allies.

"Klaus?"

He hears Sophie call out from the front door, the door he never really needs to lock.

"Kitchen," he answers, still glaring at the bottles in front of him.

He listens as Sophie's slow walk leads her to the kitchen and looks up just as she enters. His brother next to her catches him by surprise, but Elijah has always been able to sneak around undetected whenever he wants, so he lets it go.

"What's up?" the witch asks, standing in front of him and looking at the glass jars on the kitchen counter. "Who are you planning to curse now?"

"These aren't mine," he scoffs, tossing the notebook across the counter. "Can you make heads or tails of this?"

Klaus watches as Elijah looks at him confused, steps behind Sophie, and reads over her shoulder. Sophie flips to the second page, as if looking for a continuation of the recipe. His brother finishes reading the note before Sophie does, and their eyes meet in understanding. He watches as Elijah turns his head slightly, and Klaus knows he's trying to determine where Caroline is.

"Let me get my book, it's in the car," Sophie mutters, brows furrowed as she walks out of the kitchen with the notebook in her hand.

"When did she get here?" Elijah asks as soon as Sophie is out of earshot. "Did she attack you?"

"In a manner of speaking," Klaus mutters, unable to stop the smirk on his lips. Elijah returns the smirk and shakes his head.

"Do you think she's plotting something?"

"I don't know," he answers, looking down at the jars again and shrugging. "That's why I called Sophie over."

"And what if she is?" Elijah asks, sitting on one of the stools by the counter.

Klaus glares at his brother, but is spared from having to answer by Sophie returning with her grimoire open in her hand. She's still reading from it, looking confused and shaking her head.

"I'm not sure, Klaus," she mutters, setting the book and Caroline's notebook down on the counter.

"Is it for a curse?" Elijah asks, looking over her shoulder again and reading from the page she is examining.

Klaus stays silent as he watches Sophie pick up one of the jars and examines it in the sunlight that is streaming in through the kitchen windows.

"Yeah," she starts, placing the jar down and picking up another one. "I think it just might be."

— — — — —

_She's running, stumbling over her own clumsy feet as if she was human again. She falls over time and time again, but she pushes herself up and keeps on running, because she needs to get away from him, she needs to get out of here. Here. Where is here? Inside a giant catacomb, a labyrinth? All she can decipher is the darkness. The darkness and the fear, the fear that would've made her brow perspire had her body still produced sweat. Her hands are bloodied, she can see that even in the darkness. They leave trails on the walls each time she braces herself against them. Whose blood is it? Is it hers? There's so much of it, she should've healed by now. Why is it still flowing? She sees the faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and her heart soars, making her feet push faster, kick harder against the ground. It's so close, she reaches out her bloody hands, as if touching the light would immediately transport her somewhere else. She's so focused on the brightness, so stark against the surrounding blackness that has been eating at her for days now, that she doesn't see the small step just before the opening, and she stumbles again. Panicking as the ground flies up to hit her face, she turns around to fall on her back instead. And that's when she sees him, the menace in his evil eyes so bright even shrouded in the darkness. She covers her face with her bloodied arms and screams out, just as the giant canine lunges out at her._"No no no no no. NO!" Caroline screams, sitting up in bed and covering her face with her hands. The tears flowing down her face don't even register as she scrambles to get out of bed and cowers in a corner of the room. What does register is her nakedness, as well as the unfamiliarity of her surroundings. Slowly, she uncovers her face to look around the room, the sunlight streaming from the giant windows somehow calming her nerves.

"What do you mean 'it _just_ might be'?" Klaus fumes, gripping the edge of the marble counter top. "You don't know?"

"No, I can't be a hundred percent sure," Sophie answers, ignoring Klaus' angry tone. "The ingredients are listed in their non-Western names, I think I found them in this one potion here, but I have to double check. And the note says to check in Qena, so I'm guessing these ingredients were gathered in Egypt."

"What is that?" Elijah asks, touching Sophie's shoulder and pointing at the top corner of the page with his other hand. "Is that a wolf?"

Klaus looks down at the drawing on the book, and tilts his head to see it better. It does look like a wolf, resting on a block, as if ready to be sacrificed.

That's when Caroline's screams ring out from upstairs.

"_No no no no no NO!"_

In less than a second, Sophie is standing all alone in the kitchen, but she's so used to this by now, she just goes back to reading her grimoire.

"Caroline!" Klaus calls, rushing into the room and panicking when he sees that the bed is empty, streaks of blood staining the white sheets. He is only half aware of Elijah entering the room after him, before he is almost knocked over by a body slamming into him.

"Where were you?" Caroline demands, gripping his neck with her arms. He notices blood drying on them, as well as the state of her undress and he kicks his door closed just as Elijah respectfully bows out of the room.

"I'm sorry, I was downstairs in the kitchen," he whispers, gathering her in his arms and walking over to the bed. Without letting her go, he sits down and gently places her between his legs. "What happened? What's this?"

They both look down at her bloody arms, and then at the blood on the bed and he watches as Caroline's eyes overflow with fresh tears. He takes her hands in his to kiss them, and notices dried blood under her nails. Had she been scratching herself? She must've shredded her arms with the amount of blood everywhere.

"Tell me what happened, love," he asks, bringing her fingertips to his lips and kissing them. His concern for her has fully erased whatever anger and betrayal he felt just a few minutes ago. "What can I do?"

"It was just a dream," she sobs, trying to brush it off. She shivers and pushes her face against his neck as she says it, though, and Klaus knows that this was more than just your typical nightmare. Vampires shouldn't even _have_ nightmares anymore.

_Unless they're about you._

He shakes his head to reject the idea, knowing she wouldn't have ran to him like that if he had been the one terrorizing her in her dreams. He can't remember ever seeing her this scared before, and he hates that there doesn't seem to be anything that he can do to rid her of her fears.

"Tell me what happened in the dream?" he asks, pulling her chin up so he can look her in the eye.

Caroline only bites her lip harder as her tears continue to flow down her face. She tries to shake her head, but his grip on her chin prevents her from doing so. "It was just a dream," she repeats, closing her eyes, and it sounds like she's convincing herself more than him.

He bends down and kisses each of her eyes lightly, tasting the salt of her tears, before planting a soft kiss on her swollen lips. He feels her wrap her arms around his neck again and physically relaxes against her when she turns around so she can straddle him and deepen the kiss. His hands on her hips pull her closer, and he feels his body responding when she starts to move against him. He lies back down on the bed, pushing his hips up as Caroline continues to rock hers.

"Klaus?" she asks, not taking her lips away from his.

"Hmm?" he answers absentmindedly, his whole body's attention focused solely where she rocks against him.

"Was that Elijah with you just now?" she asks, sitting up suddenly and stopping her movements. "_Oh my god!_ Did your brother just see me naked?"

"What?" He feels confused for a second, frustrated at the lack of friction below their waists. "Oh, yeah. He's downstairs with Sophie."

He tries to make her move her hips again with his hands, but she pushes against him and gets out of bed, making him groan in annoyance.

"Come back," he whines, grabbing her hand and pulling her back on the bed. "We'll be really quiet."

"No!" she laughs, playfully shoving him. "He's a bajillion year old vampire, and you're incredibly skilled, and I can't promise to be quiet at all."

"_Incredibly _skilled, huh?" he jokes, sitting up and pulling her closer. He starts kissing her neck and smiles when she giggles. He loves the sound of her laugh, more than anything else in the world.

"Shut up," she hisses, pushing him again and successfully getting out of bed. She bends down to grab her bra and puts it on, causing him to pout playfully at her. "Besides, I'm kind of hungry."

"And _I'm_ supposed to be the weak one?" he asks, watching her as she opens the door to his closet.

"_Oh my god!" _she exclaims as she walks inside. "Why is this so _huge_?"

"Well, thank you, love," he teases, getting up and following her inside the closet. "The closet's not too shabby either, is it?"

She doesn't even turn to look at him as she rolls her eyes at the innuendo. She walks over to where he keeps his shirts, grabs a grey one from the neat stack, and puts it on. She starts opening the drawers until she finds his boxer shorts, smiles, and picks a checked red and grey pair. He smiles appreciatively at the view as she bends down to put it on, and has to resist the urge to grab her and take her right then and there.

"Breakfast?" she asks, looking at him as she pulls her hair up in a loose ponytail.

"Okay," he nods, loving the way she looks in his clothes. He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her in for a kiss before grabbing her hand and walking out.

"Oh, I forgot my bag last night," she says just as they reach the bottom of the stairs. "Have you seen it?"

"Yes," he sighs, unconsciously gripping her hand harder.

"Ow!" she yelps, pulling her hand away and swatting his arm. "Careful, I'm practically human next to you."

"Sorry, love," he says, avoiding her eyes. "It's in the kitchen."

He braces himself for Caroline's anger for when she finds her stuff scattered on the counter, but is surprised to see her bag buttoned and looking untouched instead. Elijah must have put everything back in, and he exchanges a meaningful look with his brother in thanks.

Sophie is turning off the stove, and wiping her hands on her jeans. Laid out on the small table are eggs, bacon, grits, cheese, waffles and fruits. Klaus feels Caroline take a deep breath next to him and hears her sigh.

"What smells so good?" she asks, grabbing his hand again. He tries to hold on to his anger, but it's hard when she seems to be clinging to him for comfort like this.

"Sorry, Klaus," Sophie says, grabbing a pitcher of juice and placing it on the table. "I got bored and hungry, but I made more than enough for everyone."

"I was going to make breakfast, anyway," he answers, leading Caroline to the table. "It wouldn't have come close to your cooking, however."

"Hi," he hears Caroline mutter next to him, and he looks down and sees her looking shyly up at Elijah. "Sorry about a while ago. Didn't mean to, uh…flash you."

"No need to apologize, Caroline," Elijah answers with a smile. "And I didn't see anything."

Klaus smiles at how her cheeks turn a beautiful color of pink as she looks down and inches closer to him.

"How rude of me," he starts. "I haven't even introduced you ladies to each other. Caroline, this is Sophie, our very own Bonnie Bennett."

"Probably nowhere near as powerful as a Bennett witch," Sophie scoffs, extending her hand out to Caroline. "But I try. It's nice to meet you, Caroline."

"Nice to meet you, too," she answers, shaking the other girl's hand.

All three vampires in the room furrow their brows as Sophie's eyes widen at their hands' touch, but she quickly covers it with a smile and gestures towards the food.

"Please," she says, looking meaningfully at Elijah. "Bon appetit."

They sit down quietly, each one making a grab for whatever food catches their fancy. Klaus offers the plate of grits to Caroline and takes the plate of bacon from her, taking some for himself. He smiles as she takes a bite of her waffles and groans in appreciation.

"Marry me, Sophie?" she mutters, making the others chuckle. "No, I'm serious. That's legal here now, right?"

"I would, but Klaus would have my head," Sophie shrugs, causing Klaus to choke on his juice. She ignores his glare as she turns to him nonchalantly. "Which reminds me, there's something I meant to show you. It's in the car, can you help?"

It's a good thing Caroline is too preoccupied with her food to notice them; Sophie is not exactly skilled at subterfuge. They both excuse themselves from the table before walking out.

Caroline stops eating and looks awkwardly at Elijah, who is quietly sipping his coffee. He smiles at her politely, but doesn't say anything, and Caroline isn't exactly keen on awkward silences.

"So," she starts nervously. "Do you guys like it here?"

He smiles as she rolls her eyes at her own question, and puts his cup down. "Yes," he answers. "I certainly do. I can't speak for my other siblings, however."

"Klaus has said this is one of his favorite places in the world," she says, going back to her food.

"Has he now?" he asks, watching her intently. "I know he was also very fond of Mystic Falls and was very sorry to leave it."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," she mutters, not looking up from her plate. "There's not really anything much in Mystic Falls, I know that now. I mean, it's beautiful to me because that's my home. It'll always be my home. But after seeing what's out there, home seems like such a small place now. And I haven't even seen a fraction of what Klaus has seen."

"Hmm," he nods, taking another sip of his coffee. "You're so very young, Caroline. Over time you will learn that some places are made precious not by what they look like, but by the people one encounters in them."

She looks up at him then, brow furrowed in confusion, but he only smiles at her and looks away.

"What is it?" Klaus asks when they get out of the house. "That wasn't very subtle in there."

"I got it wrong," Sophie whispers, looking nervously at the front door to make sure they weren't followed. "I don't think that stuff in her bag is for a curse."

"What is it then?" he asks, sounding impatient, but feeling incredibly hopeful. This means Caroline isn't plotting against him. Of course she isn't, how can he be so paranoid?

"It's _against_ a curse," she says, eyes widening. "A cure for one, to be exact."

"A cure?"

"Yeah. While you guys were upstairs, I realized I read a symbol in my grimoire wrong. Curse, cure…it gets confusing sometimes, but I wasn't sure until I touched her."

"What do you mean?" he asks, eyes starting to darken. "What did you see?"

"It wasn't exactly anything specific," she starts, shaking her head in confusion. "I didn't see anything. It was more like a feeling. Like…like there was something in her, I don't know. It felt like someone has been messing with her or something."

"Are you saying she's been cursed?" he asks through gritted teeth. "Who would do that?"

"I can't say who, exactly," she answers apologetically. "But she's _definitely_ been cursed for a while now."

This must be what it feels like to drown in the Antarctic. It feels like sharp icicles are piercing every inch of his body. Caroline? Cursed? He can't even put those two words together. She's so full of light; she's too perfect to deserve anything like this. He would rather have her plotting against him again.

Without saying a word, he turns to storm back inside the house but is stopped by Sophie's hand on his arm. He shrugs it off and glares at her, daring her to take it all back. _Begging_ her to say it was all a joke. He won't even tear her head off for it.

"Klaus, wait," Sophie whispers. "You'll freak her out. We don't even know if she understands all this. What if she doesn't even know?"

"She knows," he growls. "Obviously she knows if she's carrying around a cure against a curse, if Bonnie Bennett is concocting potions for her! She should've told me the moment she stepped across my threshold."

"Well, obviously this is something she'd rather not talk about just yet. Let her broach the subject herself. Don't storm in there growling at her, you'll scare the poor girl."

"What?" he asks. He looks down and realizes his nails have dug through the skin of his palms, and he unclenches his fists to let them heal. "I'm not going to scare her."

"Tell that to your face," Sophie grumbles. "Look, at least wait until you guys are on your own. Elijah and I will make up some excuse to leave you alone with her."

"Fine," he consents, softening a little. "What's it doing to her, anyway? The…the curse."

"I don't know," she shrugs, as they start walking back to the house. "If she doesn't tell you, you might want to talk to that Bennett witch. She might be willing to tell you."

He nods thoughtfully, not wanting to say anything else as they step inside the house. They find Caroline and Elijah laughing lightheartedly in the kitchen, and Klaus can't remember the last time he's seen his brother laugh like that. As Caroline turns in her seat to look at them, her eyes shining with mirth, he finds it even harder to connect this Caroline with the one he found shivering in fear in his room earlier. Perhaps this curse isn't as horrible as he thinks. He has been known to overreact, after all.

"Took you long enough," Caroline says in mock anger. "Elijah and I have practically finished the whole spread."

"Well," Elijah chuckles, indicating his clean plate.

"Fine," she laughs, turning back around and popping a slice of orange in her mouth. "_I_ practically finished the whole spread."

Klaus gives her shoulder a soft squeeze before sitting down on the seat next to her. He takes an orange slice from her plate and chews on it, watching her intently with a soft smile on his face. He closes his eyes when Caroline reaches over to wipe the juice that spills over his lips, and he turns his head to give her hand a kiss.

"And that would be our cue to leave," Sophie mutters, not even bothering to sit down. "Elijah?"

Neither Klaus nor Caroline even notices their two companions leave the kitchen as they stare into each other's eyes. Caroline bites her lip and starts to inch closer, her intention very clear. Klaus speaks just as their lips are about to meet.

"When were you planning on telling me that you were cursed, Caroline?"

_So much for waiting for her to broach the subject herself._ He tilts his head as he watches her sit back on her chair with an indignant look on her face.

"What?" she asks, turning back around and staring at her empty plate. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me, love."

"Did Sophie say something?" she demands, suddenly standing next to the counter, her hand gripping the handles of her bag. "Or have you been going through my stuff like some creep?"

"Both, actually," he answers unapologetically. "Though I wasn't exactly snooping, your bag just popped open and I saw the herbs. I thought for a second you were plotting to poison me, so I called Sophie over to tell me about that little recipe your witchy friend Bonnie wrote for you. And then she touched you, and you know how witches can get, feeling things they shouldn't be feeling."

"I can't believe you!" she growls, grabbing her bag and turning around to walk out of the room. Of course, Klaus is there before she can even take another step, blocking her way. _Freaking show-off!_"Don't be angry, love," he whispers, touching her face. "I really didn't mean to invade your privacy."

"That's not what I'm angry about, you idiot!" she yells, pushing her bag against his chest and ducking to get past him. Klaus lets her walk away, if only to appreciate the view as he follows her, clutching her bag.

"What then? Tell me," he chuckles, as they start walking up the stairs. "I didn't ask Sophie to read your palm or whatever the hell she did, it just happened."

"Ugh!" she growls, pushing the doors to his room open and stomping towards the bed.

"Are we going to have angry hybrid sex now?" he teases, gingerly placing her bag on a chair. His smile grows wider as she takes of her shirt, and he starts unbuttoning his own.

"What are you doing?" she asks as she bends down to grab her dress on the floor. "We are not having sex, _god!_ I'm leaving, you freak!"

"What?" he growls, his fingers freezing on the third button. "No, you're not."

In a flash, he is next to her, and he is holding her dress out of her reach behind his back. And once again, he has just turned into a child in her presence.

"Seriously?" she asks incredulously, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Stop it, Klaus."

"No, you are not leaving. Not after one night, not after a _decade_ of waiting. You are going to sit here and you are going to talk to me!"

He realizes he is yelling at her, the veins around his eyes crawling out of hiding. He doesn't need to look in the mirror to know his eyes have just turned yellow. This is what Sophie warned him about, about scaring her. But as he takes a deep breath to calm his nerves, he realizes she isn't scared at all. In fact, she still looks just as angry.

"Oh, who are you kidding?" she scoffs, crossing her arms and sitting on the bed angrily. "We both know you're not going to hurt me."

"That's true," he answers, sitting next to her and playing with the fabric of the dress in his hands. "Never again."

She looks at him then, and he swears he can see her softening. He smiles weakly at her, placing the dress on her lap.

"Yeah, well," she shrugs. "At least one of us can sleep with both eyes closed."

"What?" he asks, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Nothing," she mutters, getting up and putting the dress back on.

"Is that what this is?" He watches as she pulls the boxers off and straightens her dress. "Is that why you're mad?"

"Yes," she answers, not even looking at him. "Because after all these years, after everything last night, you still think I can hurt you. _Poison you!_"

She finds her boots under the bed, and she kneels down to reach for them. Klaus watches her, for once at a loss for words. Can she mean it? Can she really feel about him the way he does about her? He stares blankly at her face as she looks up from the floor, and without thinking about it, he slides off the bed and kisses her.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, pulling back and tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "I'm sorry I'm so paranoid. I didn't know, I didn't think there would ever be a day that you would think that way of me."

"That's because you still think no one can care about you," she sighs, hugging her knees to her chest. "That no one can actually love you."

That last statement hangs heavy in the air as they look into each other's eyes, neither of them wanting to be the first to acknowledge what it means.

"Now, don't change the subject, Caroline," he says, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. He guides her on to the bed and sits in front of her. "I want to know what happened to you."

"It's stupid," she says dismissively. "I was in Egypt, and I guess I caught the eye of some big bad wolf type, as I am apparently wont to do."

Klaus chuckles as she gestures at him as she says this, but doesn't say anything.

"But, again, as is my way, I rejected him, and he didn't like it. The difference between you and this guy is that while you decided to work for my attention, he decided to just ruin my life."

"I don't understand," he says, feeling like he missed something. "Werewolves can't cast spells."

"Oh, he's not a werewolf," she shrugs. "He's…I don't know what he is. Strong, definitely. Can do hocus pocus stuff, yeah. Maybe he's Professor Lupin? But I'm guessing he's immortal, too. "

"Who?" Klaus asks, knowing full well that Caroline is making a joke. "Caroline love, focus."

She actually giggles at that, and it warms his cold dead heart. He takes her hand and starts playing with her fingers, processing what she said.

"The nightmare," he starts. "Was it him?"

She nods slowly, and he can see her shrinking in on herself, so he pulls her into his arms and kisses the top of her head.

"I'm going to kill him," he promises. "Right after I make him reverse the curse."

"You can't," she says shaking her head frantically and grabbing his shirt. "You can't kill him."

"You can watch me," he growls, resting his back on the headboard and bringing her with him. "I am going to place his heart by your feet. Or his head, whichever you prefer."

"No," she whispers, still shaking her head. "It's impossible. He can't be killed. That's not why I came here."

"I know it's not, but I'm still going to hunt him down and kill him."

"Stop it!" she says angrily, pushing against his chest and looking down at him. "_I don't want you to._ The curse is irreversible. I came here because I only have a short time, and you promised to be my last."

If Klaus has ever felt the fool in his life, this is it. What exactly is she saying, what is she asking of him? She can't be—

"Are you suggesting that I just sit back and let this go?" he asks through gritted teeth.

"Yes," she nods "That is _exactly_ what I expect you to do. Just sit back and let everything go. Just lie here with me, and spend the next few months like this."

"_Months?"_ he spits out. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she sighs, laying her head back on his chest. "We don't have that much time."

"What is this curse?" he demands. "You look perfectly fine."

"That's why I didn't catch it fast enough," she mutters, shrugging against him. "It's eating at me from inside…from inside my head."

"The _dreams_ are the curse." It isn't a question; he's piecing everything into place now, and the more it clicks together, the more it confuses him.

"For a while, I tried not sleeping at all," she continues, snuggling closer to him as he tightens his grip around her shoulders. "But I can't stay awake for the rest of eternity. It started with my fists; I'd clench them so tight that I'd bleed uncontrollably. I thought it was the fear, you know? I thought it was because I was steeling myself for a fight. Then I realized, whatever part of me bled in my dreams, I scratch and tear at as I sleep, and I wake up covered in my own blood. Bonnie says she's not sure how long before I start tearing out my own heart, but the herbs help as long as I remember to take them before I go to sleep. It's no cure, though, it's just prolonging the inevitable."

He stays quite, running his hand up and down her back to try and soothe her. He tries to soothe her, but who will soothe him? Who will lie awake at night to watch him sleep as he descends into madness? Because that's exactly where he is headed for if this curse continues to eat away at Caroline. She will not let him make it right, and her blood letting will surely drive him insane.

No. No, he isn't letting this monster win. You do not take from Klaus, not without facing his wrath. You do not get to sleep comfortably at night, free of fear while his Caroline fades away from him day by day. He will slaughter you and your family and everyone you've ever met, sneak into your dreams and turn them into nightmares you can never awake from.

He plots every little thing he will do to this faceless monster, all the horrible things he will do to make him suffer. Cut into him, feed the monster his blood, let him heal, and then cut again, deeper and deeper each time, until he asks for mercy. Until he _begs_ to be put out of his misery. And that is when he will take the person this monster loves the most, whoever that may be, and torture them in front of him, worse than what he's suffered, and the monster will watch as their life fades from their eyes. _He will watch._

First, he needs a name.

"Who is this guy, anyway?" he asks softly, as if he was only inquiring out of curiosity. When she doesn't answer, he looks down and realizes she has fallen asleep on his chest. He feels her sigh contentedly, as if the warmth of his body shrouded her from this darkest curse. And in that moment, he thinks he can let the monster live, because he never wants to leave her side again. If being next to him means she gets to sleep in peace, his revenge can be sacrificed. He will sacrifice ever having the blood of his enemies on his hands again, if it means he could keep Caroline from spilling hers with her own.

_Oh god! Why is it so bright? It hurts. It hurts her eyes, the sun with its cheerful golden rays she knew made her hair shine just right. She covers her eyes against it, feels him move behind her as he bends down and whispers. "What's the matter, my sweet? Do you not like the sun? Do you prefer the blackness like the last time? Do you wish to die surrounded by darkness and drowning in your own blood?" Oh god, what is happening to her? She isn't burning, she still wears her ring, but why does she _hurt_? She feels her tears spill over her swollen eyes, and they are warmed by the sun, boiling over her skin. Argh! She covers her face with her hands, trying to block out the heat, but it's no use. It's flowing from within her, the sun merely adding to her own heat. He touches her cheek, but she barely feels his hand, only hears the menace in his voice as he continues to taunt her. "But you're so beautiful in the sunlight, my sweet. You do not belong in the darkness, you deserve to be seen. You deserve the sun in all its glory. I could never hide you away, I need them to see you in the light. I need them to understand that no matter how beautiful something is, I will crush it and set fire to it if it pleases me to do so. I need them to see your blood and tears so they will fear for their own." He grasps her wrists and pulls, and she feels them snapping under his grip. The sunlight shines on her eyes once more, like a spotlight turned to a stage, and she sees her hand covered in blood, and she screams as her boiling tears trail fire across her cheeks._

"She says it isn't a cure," Klaus whispers into his phone, closing the door to the bathroom behind him so as not to wake Caroline. "She says it only delays the effects of the curse. I need you to come back and help me get it ready for tonight, I don't want her ripping off her arms again when we go to bed."

"Of course," Sophie answers on the other end of the line. "I'll be there later tonight, I just want to do some more research about this curse. Maybe we can do more to help her. Can I talk to her? I just want to ask her some things."

"She's asleep, fell asleep after she told me about the curse." He twists the doorknob to check on her, trying not to make a sound as he opens the door.

"Wait, what?" Sophie asks, panic evident in her voice.

And that's when Caroline screams bloody murder, and Klaus throws the door open, letting it slam against the wall. He drops his phone on the floor as he runs to the bed, where she thrashes in her sleep, her hands covering her face like it's on fire.

"Caroline!" he screams, trying to wake her up as he tries to pull her hands away from her face. "Caroline, love, wake up!"

"Aaaargh," she cries, as the blood spills through her fingers, and Klaus thinks she has bitten her fingers off, but they are all intact and scratch free. Blood cakes under her fingernails, and he pulls harder on her wrists, feeling her soft bones break under his brutish hands, but he doesn't care, the bones will snap back easily.

_Bloody hell._His dead heart stops its unnecessary beating when he sees the state of her face. She isn't covering it, not at all. She is gouging out her own eyes, screaming in pain that her own hands are inflicting. Her beautiful green eyes, swollen shut and crusted with blood, long lashes clumping in little crimson triangular spikes. As he watches, the skin around her eyes start to stitch itself closed, and she continues to cry blood.

"Caroline, wake up, please," he begs, taking both her hands in one of his, and using the other to pull her in for a hug. "Please, you're safe. You're safe here with me."

As he feels the bones of her wrists snap back into place, he pulls back to kiss her softly on the mouth.

"Wake up, love," he whispers, fighting back the tears that threaten to spill over his own eyes. He can't recall anything that has scared him more, not when Mikael had come so close to killing him, not when he had watched Alaric drive a stake through his heart, unable to move. How do you fight against an enemy hiding inside someone else's dreams?

He pulls back farther as she starts to whimper and come to, eyes twitching, desperate to open despite the blood that cakes them.

"Klaus," she cries, fresh tears spilling down her face. "It hurts. It hurts so much."

And the tears he has been fighting so hard to keep unspilled start tumbling down his face, and the heart he thought was long dead starts constricting inside his chest.

"Shh," he whispers, rocking back and forth as he holds her in his arms. "I know, I'm sorry. You'll be okay, you're safe. You'll be okay in a minute."

"No. No, I won't be," she sobs, wrapping her arms around his waist and crying into his chest. "It hurts, Klaus."

He feels useless, sitting there and crying like a child as she clings to him and buries her face in his neck. He runs a hand through her matted curls, kissing the top of her head over and over again. What good is he to her, if he can't even save her from her nightmares?

They sit like that for what feels like hours, until her sobs finally stop and she pulls back to look up at him. Streaks of dried blood line her cheeks, but the cuts are fully healed and her eyes are now finally open. Swollen and green surrounded by red, they are still the most beautiful eyes he's ever seen.

Worry etches her brow as she reaches up with both hands to cup his face, and her thumbs wipe the tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, pulling his face down and kissing him. "I"m so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She proceeds to kiss his cheeks all over, his jaw, his eyes, as if trying to heal him with her lips.

"No, don't," he says, shaking his head and covering her hands with his. "Don't apologize. I'm sorry I left, I shouldn't have. I should have waited for you to wake up before making a call."

"You didn't know," she insists, still kissing his face repeatedly, as if she couldn't stop. "I'm just glad you're here with me now."

He pulls her closer as her mouth finds his again, and they hold each other tighter as fresh tears well up in her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This story is rated M for the very first actual sex scene I've ever written in my entire life (which is found in this chapter). Forgive me if it's awkward and choppy and all over the place, I just felt like I needed to write it once to challenge myself. Anyway, enjoy this little chapter of the story in my head. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Klaus stands in his studio, paintbrush and palette in hand, blank canvas staring back at him. He listens as Caroline hums in the shower upstairs, and the corner of his mouth tugs up into a small uneven smile. He's never heard her sing before, but the sound of her humming gives him such joy. Perhaps it's because he can hear the shower layered over it, and he can picture her standing naked under the water as steam billows about her. He shakes his head and laughs at himself, stepping closer to the canvas and furrowing his brow. Then she starts to really sing.

"_Summertime and the livin' is easy__  
__Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high__  
__Your daddy's rich, and your ma is good-lookin'__  
__So, hush little baby, don't you cry__One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singin'__  
__Then you'll spread your little wings, and you'll take to the sky__  
__But til' that morning, there's nothin' that can harm you__  
__With daddy and mommy standing by"_

He snaps out of his trance and takes a step back from the canvas. He hadn't realized that he'd started painting as she sang, and he looks up at the giant canvas that is no longer blank. Streaks of red and balls of green, twisting and mixing together. It would've looked like Christmas, had the reds not sliced through the greens menacingly.

It's her. Caroline's eyes, bleeding and pulsing, staring back at him.

He throws his brush and the palette across the room angrily, disgusted at his own creation. He stomps to the fireplace and starts a fire angrily. So lost is he in his private world of rage that he doesn't hear Caroline coming down the stairs.

He stalks to the canvas and snatches it, the easel falling on its side. He growls as he raises the canvas over his head to break it against the corner of a nearby table.

"Klaus?" Caroline whispers, walking inside the studio. She's suddenly next to him, arms up and pushing against his own. "What are you doing? You're going to break it."

"That is indeed my intent, yes," he grunts, trying to pull the canvas away from her. "Step aside, I'm burning it."

"No!" she cries, standing on her toes and snatching the canvas from his hands. She catches him by surprise, that is the only reason she is successful in taking it from him. He watches as she pulls the easel upright and places the canvas on it gingerly.

She steps back, crossing her arms across her chest, and studies the painting. Her blonde hair is still damp from her shower, her face is fresh and free of make up, and her skin practically _glows_. Her fingers have red stains from the wet paint, and he hates the way it ruins the perfect purity that is Caroline. He grabs the grimy cloth on the table, pours paint thinner on it and stands next to her.

"Why would you burn this?" she asks, not turning away from the painting. "It's beautiful."

"I hate it," he mutters, grabbing her hands and wiping her fingers with the cloth one by one.

"Why?" she pushes, looking up at him as if he had just grown two heads.

He shrugs quietly, deciding to just burn it later.

"You have a beautiful voice," he says, effectively changing the subject. "Ella would've been proud."

"Ugh, you were listening?" she grumbles, snatching her hands away from him and pushing his shoulder playfully. "Can't a girl have a little privacy around you? This place is huge, stop eavesdropping on me."

He laughs as he tosses the cloth on the table, and grabs her by the waist. She is wearing one of his white singlet shirts, and he kisses her bare shoulder as he pulls her in for a hug. She wraps her arms around his neck, fingers reaching up and playing with his hair. He closes his eyes and breathes in. He hates that she doesn't smell the way she normally does; now she smells just like him.

"We'll have to take you shopping later," he mumbles against her neck. "You're welcome to my closet all you want, but I miss your normal scent."

"Oh, so you used to sniff me before?" she jokes, stepping back and looking at him playfully. "That's not creepy at all."

"Hey, I couldn't help it," he teases, pinching her waist gently and smiling when she squirms away from it. "You always smelled lovely."

"Yeah, and you're part dog, so your nose is pretty strong, huh?" she laughs.

"Well, now, that's just rude," he says shaking his head jokingly. He bends down and kisses her on the cheek, before grabbing her hand and walking out of the studio. "Come on, we'll get you one of Bekah's dresses so we can go out and get you some of those vanilla and lavender shampoos."

They walk hand in hand as they peruse the shops in the French Quarter, Caroline pointing excitedly whenever she sees something interesting. He follows her into a shop and watches as she opens bottles and smells the contents, inhaling deeply whenever she likes the scent and crinkling her nose when she doesn't. She's wearing a cream sundress that she picked from Rebekah's closet, one that Klaus hasn't seen her sister wear, thankfully. Her blonde hair has air dried into loose waves that frame her face perfectly, and he smiles when she looks over at him with a bright smile.

He's never been around these shops that much, usually sending one of his lackeys whenever he needs anything, so he isn't exactly the best person to take her shopping around the Quarter. Rebekah would've been perfect for it, but she's somewhere in Europe gallivanting with god knows who, and he isn't sure his sister and Caroline ever really got along anyway. As it turns out, though, Caroline doesn't need to know much about a place when she goes shopping.

He looks down at the shopping bags in his hands, filled with dresses and body wash and who knows what else. If his enemies could only see him now.

"What are you skulking about over there?" Caroline asks, walking up to him with more bags.

He smiles and shakes his head as he takes her hand and they walk out of the shop into the busy street.

"I was just thinking about what my fallen enemies would think if they saw me walking around these shops," he chuckles.

"They would probably cower less," she jokes, digging her elbow against his side. "But you're safe. I'm pretty sure I've got all I need now."

"Are you sure?" he asks mockingly, raising the numerous bags in his hand. "Because I think you might be missing a kitchen sink or two."

"Har-har," she laughs sarcastically. "You're the one who wanted to take me shopping, remember?"

"Yes, I remember. What do you want to do now?"

"I'm hungry, can we go eat?" She looks up at him expectantly, and he hates that he has to refuse her.

"I'm sorry, love," he answers, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I've made arrangements with Sophie to have dinner at home. We can eat out tomorrow night, if you want."

"Oh, that's fine," she shrugs. "Will Elijah be with her?"

"Why do you ask?" he inquires, knowing full well why she did.

"I mean…is she and Elijah…you know?" she giggles, eyebrows wiggling.

He laughs heartily at her expression. "I expect my brother will be there, too, yes. I asked Sophie over to help you with that stuff."

"Oh," she says, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "That's okay, actually. I've been making it myself for almost a week now."

"She's happy to help," he assures her, squeezing her hand gently. "I'm sure it would be better if a proper witch made it."

She only nods at that, biting her lip and avoiding his eyes.

Klaus sits back in his armchair in the parlor, quietly sipping his bourbon and watching Sophie and Caroline on the floor as they work on the potion. Sophie has brought along her grimoire, as well as other paraphernalia, and has laid them out in front of them next to the lit fireplace. She's making Caroline grind up some of the herbs together in a small wooden bowl with a matching wooden pestle, and Caroline is grinding away happily, making small talk as the witch consults her grimoire and Bonnie's recipe.

"Has she told you anything else about this curse?" Elijah asks from the armchair next to him. His brother has a glass of scotch in his hand, and is watching the two ladies almost as intently as he is. "Who put it on her, perhaps?"

"No," he almost growls, shaking his head and glaring at Caroline. "Wouldn't even give me a name."

"Did she say why?"

"She doesn't want me hunting him down and making him pay. Says he can't be killed." He scoffs at that last bit, bringing his glass to his lips and finishing his drink. He reaches for the bottle on the table between him and Elijah and pours himself another double shot. He looks at Elijah when his brother's only response is to nod his head. "What?" he asks accusingly.

"Nothing," Elijah answers, turning his head and looking him in the eye. "But perhaps she has a point."

He clenches his jaw and continues glaring at his brother, trying to avoid starting a fight. Elijah knows him well enough not to need words to know he is walking on thin ice, but he has to say something. He has to express his concerns, especially after everything Sophie told him.

"Listen, from what Sophie gathered when she did her research on this curse, only a certain kind of person could have cast it," he starts, setting his glass down on the table and tugging on one of his earlobes. "And from what she's told me, it does seem like this man cannot be killed, not even by the likes of you, Niklaus."

"Perhaps I won't kill him," he grunts, looking back at the girls and sipping his drink. "Perhaps I only plan on hacking away at this warlock over and over again, killing his family in front of him, torturing him until he begs me to kill him. Only I won't. And if what you're saying is true, then it only makes my plan sound even more feasible, doesn't it?"

"This man is no mere warlock, brother," Elijah warns, waving his hand slightly, as if gesticulating would help drive home his point. "You would not be quick, nor stealthy enough to capture him."

"That sounds like a challenge, brother," he sneers, looking back at Elijah with narrowed eyes. "You know how I enjoy those."

They are snapped out of their ongoing whispered battle by the fire crackling under the small copper pot that Sophie placed above it the moment she walked inside the house. She's now pouring the ground up herbs into it, muttering under her breath in some language none of them can understand.

"_Bu iksir ərzində yerlə__ş__dirilmi__ş__ sənin __ş__ərindən sənə qorumaq edək. Ərzində yerlə__ş__dirilmi__ş__ sənin pis bu iksir xilas sənin edək."_She takes a sprig of one of the herbs, eyeing it carefully while checking her grimoire again, then holds it over the pot and pulls it through her thumb and index finger. She tosses the stem that remains in the fire, making it spark briefly.

Klaus leans forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees and trying to hear Sophie's whisperings, even though he hasn't the faintest clue what language she's speaking. He looks at Caroline's face, her eyes wide with anticipation, bottom lip caught between her teeth. Sophie must have been doing something different, something Caroline hasn't been able to do on her own.

Sophie is now kneeling dangerously close to the fire, hands stretched over the pot and still chanting under her breath. Then just like that, the wood sucks in the fire, and it dies as smoke rises up from the top of the pot. She sits back, sweat forming in her brow from standing so close to the heat, and smiles at Caroline.

"There, done."

"Wha—…" Caroline stammers, getting on her knees and inching closer to Sophie by the pot. "What was all that? Bonnie didn't tell me to do all that other hocus pocus stuff."

"That's because you're not a witch, and you couldn't have done it," Sophie answers, grabbing a piece of cloth and taking the pot out of the fireplace. "What she gave you was the basic stuff, that's probably why she wanted you to go to her before coming here to New Orleans. She probably wanted to make you a big batch of this."

They all watch as Sophie scrapes the powdery mixture into a small glass jar with a wooden spoon, peeking inside the pot to check that she gets everything. When she sees that the pot is empty, she places it on a small block of wood next to her grimoire and closes the lid on the jar.

"A teaspoon of this with your tea should do the trick," she smiles, handing the glass to Caroline.

"Right," Caroline nods, looking down at the jar. "Before going to sleep, right? And before taking naps, if I wanted."

"Not necessarily," Sophie answers, starting to gather her things and putting them away in her bag. "You had to take the potion before you went to bed because you had the very basic version of it, and the effect only lasted a few hours. I made it so it lasted drastically longer, meaning you wouldn't need to take more if you wanted to take a nap the following morning. It should work for 24 hours, just make sure you stick to a schedule everyday."

Klaus watches as Caroline stares at Sophie, looking like she's about to cry. He knows what it feels like to be bound by a curse, though the one he was once spelled with was obviously very different from hers. He knows that a few more hours of some peace of mind means so much to Caroline right now.

"Thank you so much," Caroline whispers, grabbing Sophie for a hug. Sophie looks surprised by the sudden contact, dropping the wooden spoon she's holding as Caroline crushes her closer.

"No problem," she grunts, trying to hug the vampire back even though her arms are pinned to her sides.

"Sorry," Caroline mumbles sheepishly, letting her go and handing her back the spoon.

"Let me know when you only have about this much," Sophie says, reaching for the bottle to indicate how much she means. "I'll come by again and help you make more then."

Caroline nods gratefully as she helps Sophie put her things away. She grabs the pot and makes to put it inside the bag when Sophie stops her.

"No, keep that. It's better if you hold on to it here, that way it won't be used for anything else. I bought that specifically for this, better not let its effects get watered down by other spells."

"Oh, okay," Caroline nods, placing it next to the jar of her potion mixture. "Thanks."

"All right, ladies, now that that's taken care of," Klaus announces suddenly, getting up from his seat and ignoring his brother deliberately. "How about some dinner?"

Over the course of dinner, Caroline tells Sophie and Elijah the story of how she came to be cursed, what went through her head the first time she woke up with her own blood caking under her fingernails, staining and drying the sheets, and how Bonnie finally figured out what kind of curse it was after a few weeks of their correspondence over the phone. She tells them how Bonnie stayed up with her during the nights she resisted sleep, how her best friend had wanted to fly to Egypt immediately to help her out, and how she vehemently refused to let the witch drop everything in her life just to come to her aid. If there is one thing Caroline is an expert in, it's enduring—and then walking away from—extreme torture all on her own.

As Elijah looks at her with a saddened kind of respect in his eyes, and Sophie stares wide-eyed in disbelief of Caroline's and Bonnie's willingness to do anything for each other, Caroline steals a quick look at Klaus, who has been uncharacteristically quiet ever since they sat down for dinner. Brow furrowed and jaw clenched, he pokes at the food on his plate half-heartedly with his fork, lost in his own world where none of his dinner companions have been invited. She's just about to reach over to cover his fist with her hand when Elijah addresses her.

"And this…warlock?" he asks cautiously, rubbing his fingers together as if feeling the actual texture of the word between them. "Did you know he was capable of such a curse when you first met him?"

"No, not at all," Caroline answers, shaking her head quickly. "I didn't even know he was supernatural until it was too late. He offered to show me around, and I thought he was just this nice guy, you know? He was a perfect gentleman the first few days, but then after he made his intentions known and I declined, he got increasingly aggressive each time we saw each other."

"So you still met up with him regularly after he showed signs of aggressiveness?" Sophie asks incredulously.

"Well, you have to remember that I'm a vampire, and I thought he was just a normal guy. I thought I could take him if it came down to it. He was my friend…or I thought he was, at least. He was obviously the only person I knew in the country. Also, I have this nasty habit of befriending and doling out multiple second chances to persistent and aggressive guys."

They all turn to Klaus as she says this last part jokingly, and he looks up and meets Caroline's eyes. She smiles sweetly at him, and he returns it reluctantly before turning his attention back to the untouched food on his plate. Caroline catches Elijah's eye, and they both furrow their brows in concern. Both of them can read Klaus well enough to know when something is eating at him. Of course Elijah already knows what it is, but Caroline makes a mental note to ask about it when they are alone again.

"Was he hot?" Sophie asks nonchalantly.

Elijah turns to look at Sophie in what passes for horror from an Original vampire, and Caroline hears Klaus scoff, but she answers the question without even missing a beat.

"He was, actually, yeah."

Elijah's incredulous look turns to her, and she is fully aware of the low grumbling noises emanating from Klaus' chest.

"Really?" Sophie giggles, leaning on the table like a high school cheerleader sharing some gossip. "So why did you turn him down, then? I mean, the first time, before he got all grabby?"

"I don't know," she shrugs, stealing another look at Klaus. If he clenches his jaw any tighter, Caroline's afraid it's going to break off. "What? He was," she chuckles at him, before turning back to Sophie. "I guess I was just really not interested."

"I have to say, Sophie," Elijah starts, and the two girls turn to look at him expectantly. "I believe this is the first time I've seen you act like a normal girl."

"Uh, thanks?" Sophie laughs, looking at Caroline and shrugging her shoulders. "Was that a compliment, or something?"

"Pardon me, I don't mean to offend, of course," Elijah says quickly, raising his hands a little. "Perhaps it's only because I've never really seen you around other women before. Apart from my sister, of course, but other girls rarely ever like her."

Sophie rolls her eyes at him, and Caroline laughs, taking this momentary diversion to wrap her hand around Klaus' fist the way she had intended to earlier. She smiles when she feels his fingers relax their grip on his fork, and she squeezes his hand gently before letting go and returning to her food.

— — — — —

Klaus seats in the bath, head leaned back and eyes staring at the ceiling of his dark bathroom as his body fights to relax under the warm foamy water. Caroline had suggested it, even drawing the bath for him herself and lighting a couple of her newly acquired candles on the marble shelf by the end of the tub. It gives the room a soft moody atmosphere, though the vanilla scent emanating from the candles is not nearly as intoxicating as when it comes directly from Caroline's body.

The bath isn't doing him much good, either, other than effectively wrinkling the tips of his fingers. He doesn't see the appeal of baths. Never have, to be honest. How is it supposed to magically cure you from stress, imaginary or otherwise? Isn't that what herbs and witches are for?

_Sophie, I'm feeling a bit peeved tonight, can you snap your fingers and make my body relax?_

Witches and cannabis, those he understands. They physically alter one's body from inside, poking and prodding the chemicals and hormones mixing and twisting within. _Baths?_ How is soaking in your own filth supposed to relax you?

"Well, that's disappointing," he hears Caroline mutter from the bathroom door. He raises his head from the edge of the tub and sees her leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest. She's wearing a sexy lace ensemble—flimsy white camisole and the tiniest pair of shorts he has ever seen in his long and boring life. He feels the corners of his mouth tug up into a lazy smile as his eyes travel down her body, taking in the way the camisole hugs her curves just right, how the shorts elongate her already long legs. Her dainty feet are bare, toenails painted a dark red, the color of blood.

"What is, love?" he asks, arms snaking up from the bubbles and resting on the edges of the tub.

"You don't look relaxed at all," she pouts, pushing away from the doorway to walk to the sink. She pulls herself up to sit on the marble top, legs swinging as she looks down at him. "You look just as miserable as you did during dinner."

"I'm feeling a _lot_ better now, trust me," he smiles suggestively, tilting his head exaggeratedly to look at her legs. "What with this view and all."

"I wanted you in a different kind of mood, actually," she chuckles, rolling her eyes. "Apparently a mood that's pretty foreign to you. Just let go and _relax_, damn it."

"Well, I can't exactly relax with you looking the way you do right now, can I?" he says in a low voice, hands gripping the tub as he starts to push up from the water.

"Oh, no you don't," she warns, hopping off the sink. She's behind him in a flash, hands pushing against his shoulders. He smiles and lets her nudge him back down in the water, turning his head to kiss her arm softly. "You are not leaving this tub until that permanent scowl is off your pretty little face."

"Okay, two questions, love," he says, tilting his head back to look at her. "First, do you see a scowl on this face?" He smiles as Caroline rolls her eyes, fingers digging into his shoulders deeper. "And second, _you think I'm pretty?"_ He laughs full on when Caroline makes a show of dropping her head and closing her eyes.

"You are impossible," she says, shaking her head and pushing his shoulders forward, making him sit up in the tub.

His smile grows wider when he feels her legs slip into the water behind him. He lets her pull him back against them and push his head so it rests on her knees. He is about to make another comment about what he'd like to do with her long legs when she starts running her fingers through his hair and humming under her breath. "What are you doing, love?" he asks, his eyes closing of their own accord.

"Just shut up," she whispers exasperatedly, leaning over to give his nose a light kiss. She resumes her humming then, her fingers gently massaging his scalp. He feels his shoulders relax against her legs, his head slowly tilting to the side so that his cheek rests against her right knee. He doesn't even recognize the song she's humming, but it sounds lovely. Then again, everything about Caroline, everything she does, is lovely.

He opens his eyes and finds Caroline smiling down at him, twirling a curl behind his ear around her index finger. She isn't humming anymore, when did she stop? He didn't notice.

"What?" he asks lazily, grabbing her hand and twining their fingers together. "Keep singing," he demands as his eyes close again.

He hears her chuckle under her breath, before she resumes her humming. He opens his eyes again and sees her reddened knee. He pulls his head up and releases her hand to examine it, barely grazing it with his fingers. "What happened?"

"Hmm?" Caroline asks absentmindedly. She looks down where his finger is tracing small patterns against her knee. "What do you mean?"

"What happened to your knee?" he asks, looking up at her.

He scowls when she laughs, grabs the sides of his face and pulls it up so she can kiss his mouth.

"You did, _love," _she whispers in a poor imitation of his accent. "You've been sleeping against it, duh!"

He sits up straight, turning his torso slightly to look at her right side up. "Have I?" he asks. "For how long?"

"Almost an hour," Caroline answers, smiling proudly. "Look," she says, nodding her head pointedly at the other end of the tub.

Klaus turns around again and sees the candles, melted almost a third of the way. He looks back at her, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Well, you're certainly better than a witch, aren't you?" he says, his right hand running up her left calf under the water.

"Uhm…thanks. You and your brother are such charmers, aren't you?" she laughs, starting to get up and stepping out of the tub. "Now go rinse yourself off so you can go to sleep on your actual bed, on an actual pillow."

"Hmm," he mutters under his breath, hand refusing to let go of her calf when she tries to pull away. "I don't feel like sleeping just yet."

Caroline looks down at him with wide eyes, as his fingers travel up to caress behind her knee, and he smiles triumphantly when he feels goosebumps rise on her skin. She's halfway out of the tub by now, her other leg dripping water on the floor next to it, and Klaus takes this to his advantage.

Before she could blink, he's standing in front of her right by the edge of the tub, hand still under her knee. _When did he hook it over his waist? _He presses her closer to him with his free hand, eyes never leaving her face as she swallows slowly and licks her lips. He can already feel his body responding to her close proximity as he lowers his head, kissing slowly along her jaw. He trails soft kisses down to her neck, smiling against her skin when he feels her hands grip his shoulders. He knows he has found another one of her weak spots when he sucks gently on the skin behind her ear and she gasps loudly, creamy leg pulling him closer as she slowly moves her hips against his. The texture of her shorts sends a spark up his spine, and he all but growls as his left hand finds her other knee and brings it up to his waist. He watches her pull off her top, throwing it to the floor, and he steps back and sits down, bringing her inside the tub with him, completely ignoring the water that's already overflowing.

She snakes her fingers through his hair again, looking deep into his eyes as they listen to their ragged breathing. She bites her lower lip before slowly bending her head and kissing him softly. He lets her set the pace of the kiss, matching her preferred speed and fighting the impatience that's starting to form between his legs. She sucks gently on his bottom lip, making them both groan at the same time.

Her kisses turn frantic when his hand finds one of her breasts and starts caressing it gently. Her greedy mouth forces his lips apart, plunging her tongue in and finding his, as her hands turn into fists around his curls, scraping his scalp with her fingernails and tugging harshly so his head tilts up and meets hers. She is kneeling over him now, knees positioned on either side of his hips, and he resists the urge to thrust upward to chase the pleasure that comes with being up against her. His other hand starts touching her everywhere, starting by brushing her hair from her shoulder, trailing his fingers down her spine, palming her ass. Gradually, she lowers herself on top of him, her hips grinding faster.

_Fuck, that feels good!_

He breaks away from the kiss, smirking when she refuses to let go of his hair and tries to pull him back, but he lowers his head and replaces the hand on her breast with his mouth. She starts to purr against him as he feels one of her hands release his hair so she can brace herself against the tub, pulling him closer.

"Klaus," she moans, and she pulls and grinds and scratches at him. "_God, Klaus!_"

Suddenly, the lace that separates them feels like barbed wire against his skin, and he wants it gone. If she feels him tearing her shorts off, she doesn't indicate it; she's too lost in the sensations his tongue is sending all over her body as it flicks circles around her nipple.

She gasps when his hand finds that one spot between her legs, cupping her mound as his middle finger starts to imitate his tongue's movements on her breasts. If Klaus is all restraint, Caroline is all fervor and need. She moves her hips in time to his finger's rhythm, whispering his name over and over again like a sinner at prayer. He relishes the fact that he can make her fall apart with his hands and his mouth alone, that it is _his_ _name_ she moans time and time again, that her body responds to his in the most perfect of ways.

The tiny hand that is still clamped in his hair is around him all of a sudden, gripping and tugging and twisting. His mouth releases her left breast in surprise and his fingers falter, but he doesn't miss the slow smile that spreads over Caroline's face as she continues to pump him under the water. The glint in her eye only makes him harder, and he lets a groan escape his throat as she inches backwards to give herself more room to move. He feels her thumb run over his tip, and he can't fight the tiny upward jerk his hips make this time.

His knuckles start turning white as he grips the sides of the tub, and dear, sweet Caroline Forbes, with her mischievous smile he is sure she never wore back when she was Miss Mystic Falls, starts to disappear under the water. The water, gone cold and now almost completely bubble-free, does nothing to hide what is going on underneath. He bites his lip to keep from growling when he feels her tongue tentatively lick his tip before putting all that she can of him inside her mouth, sucking gently as she rakes her fingernails up and down his trembling legs.

He can't remember a time that he appreciated the fact that vampires don't need to breathe more than he does at that moment, as Caroline stays under far longer than humanly possible. Her hands circle over the base of his shaft, pulling and twisting in time with her warm mouth.

When he can't take any more without ruining this perfect moment, he pulls her up and pushes her hair away from her beautiful face. They smile at each other as his hands grab her around the waist and he sets her on the edge of the bathtub. He gives her his most evil smirk while pushing her knees wide apart, and kisses along the inside of her thigh. He can hear her breathing getting more and more ragged as he inches upward with each kiss, his hand finding the back of her knee and drawing random patterns against the skin. She grabs his hair again to brace herself when he pulls her leg over his shoulder, his tongue now licking the skin right next to her mound.

He takes a second to stare at it, trembling and ready for him, before burying his nose in the thin golden hair that does nothing to cover her. He takes a deep breath and groans when he inhales her delectable scent, his tongue finally snaking out of his mouth and tentatively licking between her lips. He fights the snigger that tries to escape his throat when Caroline accidentally knees the side of his head at the contact, knowing the sound of his laughter might embarrass her. The way she moans and grips his hair harder drives his amusement away, replacing it with a burning desire to pleasure her in ways she doesn't even know are possible.

He brings her other leg over his shoulder as his mouth starts alternating between licking, flicking and sucking on her, his hands on her waist holding her up so she doesn't fall from the edge of the tub. He wants her falling off an entirely different edge tonight. Both her hands are fists in his hair now, pulling him closer as she starts moving her hips against his mouth, whimpering his name as she bites down on her lip. He knows she's close, so he quickens his tongue's movements, and sucks a little bit harder, refusing to relent when her knees fight to close against his head and her whole body starts to tremble. With a final flick of his tongue, she screams out his name just as he feels her nails draw blood from his scalp. He continues to suck on her little nodule while she all but vibrates around him, and he only looks up when it stops and he feels her release his hair.

Her hands are covering her face now, but he can see that it's so beautifully red as she blushes profusely. She moves her legs off his shoulders and he pulls her from the side of the tub and makes her sit in front of him. He chuckles as he pulls her hands away, and she tries to hide her face with her hair.

"Don't be embarrassed," he whispers, holding her chin and tilting her head up so she will look at him. "You're so beautiful, I hate not seeing that face."

"God, stop it," she says, closing her eyes just to avoid looking at him.

"Why?" he asks as he gently caresses her cheek. "I enjoy pleasuring you."

"Ugh," she huffs, opening her eyes and grabbing his wrist to stop him. "It's so embarrassing. I've never…I—"

"What? Have you never orgasmed against someone's mouth?" he teases.

"Oh my god, stop it!" she gasps, covering her face again.

"_You haven't?!_"

Well that is just ridiculous! How did those stupid small town boys before him resist just devouring her every chance they got?

He takes her hands away from her face again, and licks his lips to hide his amused smile. She looks at him shyly, turning even redder when her eyes lock on his mouth. She's all over him suddenly, her tongue replacing his own against his lips, her slender arms and legs encircling his body. He's pushed back against the tub, and he groans when she starts moving against him again. She breaks away from the kiss to guide him inside her, and his mouth finds her breast again, sucking gently as she eases him in.

For a moment, she stays still, breathing in and out calmly to let herself get used to being around him. And then she starts moving her hips up and down, in circles, up and down, in circles again. Now she's the one driving him mad, making him harder as she pushes against his chest so they can look at each other. He grabs her hips to pull her down so he can thrust harder, bury himself deeper inside her. He wants to reach the furthest nerve inside her, wants to poke and prod at it until she's panting and screaming his name out again.

She furrows her brow and bites her lip hard, closing her eyes and beginning to moan again. The sight of her slowly but surely being driven towards the edge once more inches him closer to it as well, the sounds coming from her throat making him throb more painfully inside her. He bites his own lip when the veins around her eyes start crawling into view, and he feels the ones around his pulsing under the skin. She looks down at him hungrily then, fangs out and breaking the skin of her lower lip. He pulls himself up despite her hands pushing against his chest and he licks the blood that trickles from her mouth, capturing her lips and circling her waist with his arm to pull her closer. Their fangs fight for control, cutting their mouths as they move faster and faster.

Caroline pulls her head back, eyes ablaze with a burning desire that matches his own and she tilts her head to the side to offer him her neck. He tilts his own to the other side, offering her the same. He kisses her shoulder gently first, flicks his tongue out to lick and suck, before opening his mouth and plunging his fangs in just as she does the same to the skin below his ear. As they both lick and suck and swallow the other's warm and delicious blood, they send each other over the edge violently, trembling and pulsing against each other and scrambling erratically, as if fighting to merge their bodies together forever.

Klaus lets go first, retracting his fangs and kissing her shoulder as her skin stitches itself closed. He hugs her tighter and closes his eyes, just as Caroline releases his neck and licks the rapidly healing wound. They stay tangled like that for a long time as they come down from the highs of sex and blood sharing, fully content in each other's arms.

"Wow," he whispers against her hair. "Baths are amazing."

* * *

**A/N: If you want to know which version of Summertime Caroline sings in the shower, youtube Renee Olstead's version of it. I don't know, I can imagine Caroline belting it out that way. And no, Klaus' painting is not of Caroline's eyes literally. Usually, people don't see what artists' put in their work, that's why Caroline still finds it beautiful. She's not some weird psycho who likes seeing her own eyes bleeding. Lastly, I just picked a random language in Google Translate for that spell Sophie chants. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think of how the story is going so far. I'd love some notes/comments/suggestions. :)**

**I'm in the process of moving this story from my tumblr, editing and combining shorter parts into longer chapters, so while the first few chapters might get posted fairly quickly, future ones might take longer. Just know that I will not abandon this story any time soon, as it plays like a movie in my head almost every minute of everyday. It's just a matter of finding the time to actually write anything despite my erratic work schedule.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It's 2 o'clock in the morning, and Klaus hasn't slept a wink. He has been watching Caroline for the better part of an hour as she smiles and sighs peacefully in her sleep, and though he watched her drink her special tea before they went to bed earlier, he still does not want to risk her having another nightmare. The images that swim in his head when he closes his eyes—those of Caroline covered in blood—do not help either.

It's infuriating. He had been waiting to have Caroline by his side for so long, it felt like it was never going to happen. He always imagined how his life would be different once she finally gave them a chance, less angry and dark. He imagined her light spilling over, embracing him and gradually brightening everything in his world. Never in his long and pointless lifetime did he imagine feeling this much rage again once she became a part of his life.

But rage he feels, and his hands have nothing to crush, his teeth nothing to tear. He fights against the claws that are slowly inching out of his fingertips, ignores the way they cut into the skin of his palms as he clenches his fists tighter. He doesn't even realize that he's growling under his breath until Caroline opens her eyes groggily and looks up at him in concern.

"Klaus?" she mumbles, fighting a yawn and inching closer to him. "What's wrong?"

He watches as her right hand reaches across his body to grab his right fist, which quickly unclenches under her touch. She closes her eyes again and turns around, bringing his hand with her so that his arm wraps around her body as they lie on their sides.

"Sleep," she softly commands, sighing against him contentedly as he pulls her closer to his chest. And as if she has compelled him (and truly, she would've been the only one capable of such a feat), his whole body instantly relaxes, and he buries his nose in her hair and finally drifts off to sleep.

Caroline is dead to the world. Though she's only been cursed for several months now, it feels like forever since she last had a good night's sleep, feeling safe and free of nightmares. She suspects the man sleeping soundly next to her is as much responsible for this as Sophie's potion.

What wakes her is the buzzing noise that gradually seeps into her subconscious. She tries to ignore it, snuggling closer to Klaus' body and clinging on to the last dredges of sleep like a stubborn child hanging from the hem of her mother's dress. The buzzing stops eventually, making her smile mentally at her victory over consciousness, only to begin again after a few seconds. It buzzes twice then stops, and she realizes that the culprit is her own phone.

She opens one eye grudgingly to peek at the offensive object lying on the table next to her side of the bed and resists the urge to throw it across the room. Closing her eye again, she reaches over and unlocks her phone.

She opens her eyes to read the message from Bonnie:

_Need to talk. NOW. Call back as soon as you get this._

Well, if that doesn't wake her up completely, she doesn't know what will. She looks over her shoulder to check if Klaus has woken up, and when she sees that he doesn't show signs of coming to any time soon, she slowly slides out from under his arm and rolls out of bed. Dropping on the balls of her feet, she tiptoes out of the room, and grabs the silk robe draped over the couch by the door.

She considers taking a tour of the mansion on her own, realizing that she has only seen some of the many rooms so far — the lounge, the kitchen, Klaus' studio, his bedroom. Oh, and the bathroom.

She feels her cheeks flush as memories of last night's activities run through her head, and she giggles despite herself. She decides to just ask Klaus for the tour when he wakes up, opting to call Bonnie from the kitchen instead. Heading straight for the refrigerator, she clicks 3 on her phone's keypad and presses the call button. She starts looking for something to eat as the phone on the other end rings, and her eyes land on some blood bags sitting on the freezer.

How nice it must be not to need to hide those in your basement.

Grabbing one marked A+ and nudging the door close with her foot, she tosses the blood bag inside the microwave just as Bonnie answers.

"Caroline." Her best friend sounds out of breath, like she's been running. "I'm on my way there, text me your location." Or _is _she currently running?

"Bonnie, slow down," she answers, pulling herself up and sitting on the kitchen counter.

"There's no time, I'm gonna' be late for my flight," Bonnie huffs, and Caroline hears the distinct sounds of a busy airport in the background. "I'll explain everything when I get there, but I think I may have found a way to get rid of that stupid curse. Oh god, my flight's boarding! I'll see you later. Send me that address!"

"Wha-_wait_!" But Bonnie has already hung up, and Caroline can only stare at her phone as the microwave's beeping stops and the smell of warm blood wafts through the air.

"Your A positive, love."

She turns around to see Klaus standing next to her, holding out a huge ornate golden goblet filled with blood. She smiles as he leans in for a kiss before handing her her breakfast.

"I would've happily sipped straight from the bag, you know," she mutters before their lips met.

"I know," he smiles charmingly, his cheeks just slightly denting to show off his dimples. "But you're already refusing to drink straight from the vein of our lovely donor, the least I could do is make sure you get the next best thing."

She rolls her eyes at him before taking a giant gulp of the delicious crimson liquid. She licks her lips and offers the blood back to Klaus, who takes a sip while she tips the goblet to help him.

"Not so bad, right?" she asks, as Klaus wipes his lips with the back of his hand and makes a face. "What?"

"No, it isn't bad," he answers, stepping between her knees and wrapping his arm around her waist. "But once you've had the best, it just isn't the same."

"I know, I know," Caroline answers, tipping the goblet back and smiling as Klaus trails kisses from her neck to her jaw. "From the vein is still better."

"Mm-hmm," he murmurs, making his way closer to her lips. "But yours is, without a doubt, the best there is."

She places the golden goblet on the counter next to her, and hungrily accepts Klaus' kisses, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Klaus' hands have started their familiar trek along her body, pulling her robe open and finding her breasts. She gasps as one of his hands finds its way down south and a finger slips inside her.

"Do you want me to get someone to pick up Bonnie from the airport?" Klaus asks, watching the bite on Caroline's shoulder heal. He can feel the one on his wrist stitching close as well. "Or did you us want to pick her up ourselves?"

They are lying on the massive island in the middle of the kitchen, neither one caring about being a cliché, and Caroline has just sat up to look for her robe. She looks over her shoulder at him in mock anger.

"You eavesdropping mongrel!"

"Oof," he jokes back, clutching his chest and pretending to be hurt. She giggles and leans back down on one elbow next to him, kissing him slowly on the lips. "You know I can't help it," he whispers when they pull apart. He runs his hand up and down her smooth back and smiles at the tiny goosebumps that rise on her skin.

"Let's pick her up," she answers, foregoing the search for her robe for Klaus' waiting arms. "But that won't be for later. Much later."

— — — — —

"What time did you say Bonnie's flight is coming in?" Klaus asks in feigned disinterestedness, not even bothering to look up from his cup of tea. He is determined to keep his cool, and not give away how anxious he is to learn more about Caroline's curse from the Bennett witch. He plans on plucking out every last bit of information he can gather from her about Caroline's attacker. In his mind, he is readying the heaviest, most important dossier about a man whose name he does not even know.

"I didn't, actually," Caroline answers, reaching for her phone to reread the message Bonnie sent before turning off her phone for take-off. "She says she lands at Armstrong International around noon."

"Oh, so we have plenty of time _for plenty of things_," he teases, looking up at her and raising his eyebrows suggestively. Caroline's patented eye roll makes him snigger like a child, and he grabs her free hand and presses it to his lips. "What do you want to do then?"

"Actually," she starts, putting her phone next to her bowl of cereal and resting her elbow on the table. She waits just long enough for Klaus' grin to widen against the back of her hand before she continues. "I just realized I haven't seen this whole place yet. Gimme a tour?"

Caroline does not miss the way his smile freezes for just a fraction of a second, or the way his grip on her hand tightens ever so slightly. She has just tilted her head and furrowed her brow in question when Klaus stands and pulls her up with him.

"As you wish, Caroline."

Perhaps she just imagines it, but his voice sounded sad just then.

They should have made their way through the first floor in less than 10 minutes, since 3 of the 4 main rooms Caroline has already seen are located there, but it couldn't be helped.

Next to Klaus' studio is his office, a spacious room with hardwood floors, wide walls, and high windows. A set of dark, reddish-brown leather couches and armchairs sit around a heavy-looking coffee table in the middle of the room where a few old books (first editions, Caroline guessed) sit. Next to the biggest window, on the farthest side of the room, is a huge mahogany desk and a dark reddish-brown tufted leather wingback chair. A small silver laptop sits folded on top of the blotter on the center of the desk, as well as some yellowing parchment that looks like they had been torn from an old book, an antique rotary telephone, a quill and a bottle of ink.

"Who are you, Dumbledore?" she asks when her eyes land on his workspace, earning her another chuckle from her tour guide.

One side of the room is covered entirely by shelves upon shelves of books of varying colors and sizes. Klaus watches from the door as Caroline makes a beeline for them, looking up in awe at the titles and running her delicate fingers over the spines. One particular book catches her attention, and she pulls it out and holds it up to show Klaus.

"Really?" she asks incredulously.

"Yes," he answers, unapologetically. "I happen to think old Oscar was on to something when he wrote that one."

She places it back on the shelf with another roll of her green eyes before walking over to Klaus' desk. She sits on the chair and props her bare and delicate feet on the desk, knowing full well that she's giving Klaus quite the show from where he stands.

"How do I look?" she inquires, picking up the phone from its cradle and pressing it against her ear.

"Ravishing," Klaus answers in a deep voice, pushing of the door and walking towards the desk. She quickly recognizes the look in his eyes and puts the phone back down.

"No! Don't you da-" she squeals when Klaus reaches her in a flash before she can pull her legs down from the desk. He's now looming over her, hands resting on either side of the chair to cage her in. Ignoring her protests, he bends down and plants a kiss on her lips, deeply inhaling her intoxicating scent that is quickly mixing with the scent of leather and parchment that always permeates this particular room.

He smiles mentally when Caroline all but melts against him, letting a small purr of contentedness escape her lips as one of his hands travel down her long leg. Her arms wrap themselves around his neck as he grasps her foot, and suddenly he's kneeling on the floor between her knees, pulling her closer as he deepens the kiss.

Her fingers find their way into his curls, as they often do, and she pulls his face closer to hers, locking her ankles behind him. It's as if she couldn't get closer to him, and he knows exactly what that feels like. Quickly (and probably without her even noticing) he picks her up and turns them around so that he's now sitting on the chair and Caroline is straddling him. The fabric of her new robe is soft to his touch as he bunches it in his fists and he pulls on them hungrily.

"Klaus."

His name never sounded more heavenly in his ears. Coming from her, _sighed by her_, angels plucking harps could have been singing while doves flew and the sun shone behind them, and he wouldn't have heard. All there is in this moment is this woman's breath, this woman's scent, this woman's lips.

This woman. Caroline. _His _Caroline_. _She's all there is.

"I'm determined to do that in all the rooms in this place," he sighs, while Caroline lies spent on top of him, legs draped over the side of the wingback. Her head, which is resting on the crook of his neck, shakes slowly before she pushes against his chest to sit up and look at his face.

"Doing that in your studio just seems messy," she answers lazily before plopping her head back down.

"Okay then, we'll leave out a room or two."

"Don't your siblings have rooms here, too?" she asks, crinkling her nose though he can't see.

"Fine. In _most_ of the rooms."

"Agreed," she laughs, pulling herself up and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"What, now?" he asks excitedly. He hurriedly stands up, helping her to her feet and grabbing her robe from the floor and his shirt from the desk.

"No!" she giggles, swatting at his chest before covering herself up. "I want to see this place before we leave for the airport."

"Fine," he sighs, tying the strings of his pajamas and letting Caroline drag him out of the room.

There is a small library sandwiched between Klaus' office and the sitting room, with a couple of tables and chairs next to the windows, and Caroline knows she'll be spending a lot of her time in there. She always wanted a library as a child, even wanting to work in one before her first encounter with an actual librarian. Needless to say, a 6-year-old Caroline in a library got shushed a lot.

They don't enter the room this time, much to Klaus' dismay, because Caroline is determined to see the rest of the mansion. He takes her hand in his as he leads her to the main dining area that is usually used when a party or a formal dinner is being held. She hasn't exactly eaten any meals in there yet, Klaus seeming to prefer eating in the huge kitchen instead, and she now understands why.

There is a long sleek dining table made of glass and chrome in the middle of the room, with about 10 matching high-backed chrome and black leather chairs surrounding it. Surely, being surrounded by so many empty chairs only reminds Klaus how much of his family members have passed. She feels incredibly lonely just then, and squeezes Klaus' hand briefly before pulling him out of the room.

They head up the stairs that end right in front of Klaus' room, turning right down a hallway that overlooks the front door and the greeting area.

"This is Elijah's room," Klaus explains, as they make their way to the farthest room. He opens the door to give her a peek, and rolls his eyes. "I'd forgotten how boring he is."

The bright room is in stark contrast to Klaus' room, which always makes Caroline think that Klaus is not much of a fan of change. She guesses his rooms ages ago when they lived as royalty looked like his current one: a huge four-poster bed, antique tables, trunks and chaises, and heavy velvet curtains that effectively block out the sun. She feels sorry for whoever has to wash those.

Elijah's bed is a king-sized no nonsense affair, with crisp blue sheets that look almost like his tailored suits. Instead of a headboard, there is a long white shelf that houses several books and a lamp. Two small glass tables sit on either side of the bed, a digital alarm clock placed on top of the one farthest to the wall. The cream drapes look light, and Caroline doesn't need to worry about who washes them. An open door at the far end of the room leads to a bathroom, as Klaus explains.

Next to Elijah's room is the room he uses as his study. Again, it is as different to Klaus' extravagant office as day is to night. Where Klaus is a fan of leather and wood, and seems to be a pack rat, the older brother opts for minimalist furniture: a simple white desk with a big flatscreen desktop computer, a set of filing cabinets and an office chair Caroline doesn't think is too comfortable.

"I'd like to see him try what we did in my office on that," he says deviously when he follows her eye line, earning himself a punch on the shoulder. She blushes a deep pink, and he knows it was worth it.

"On to Bekah's room, then," Klaus announces, pulling the door to Elijah's study closed. They walk past Klaus' room, and Caroline almost stops in front of the room next to it, but Klaus pulls her on and opens the door to the room in front of the other flight of stairs.

Rebekah's room isn't what Caroline expected at all. It's a huge room, she suspects it's even bigger than Klaus', but it's cozy as well. Her bed is made of wrought iron that's been painted white, with fluffy pillows and a comforter you can get lost in. An antique floor lamp stands on one side, while a white end table with small books and notebooks piled on top stands on the other.

There are two comfortable-looking armchairs sitting on either side of a round table next to a pair of white bookshelves that have books and trinkets standing against the wall adjacent to the door, while a vanity table fit for a movie star sits next to the window. That table, and the director's chair next to it (with Rebekah's name written on the back) are the only things that don't surprise Caroline. A sea foam green chaise lounge sits at the end of her bed.

Klaus points out the doors that lead to her walk-in closet and her bathroom, knowing his sister would wring his neck if she even so much as sniffs the air and smells someone else's scent inside her closet. He already took a huge risk when he took that sundress he lent to Caroline earlier.

"As always, she'd gotten her way again and somehow managed to wrestle the master bedroom from us."

"I never thought I'd say this," Caroline mutters as Klaus closes the door, "but I'm actually jealous of Rebekah right now."

"You can make up our room however you like," Klaus whispers, nuzzling her neck.

"_Our room?"_ she blanches nervously.

"Well, where do you think you've been sleeping this whole time?" he asks, looking at her amusedly. He pulls her in for a hug when she blushes slightly and whispers into her hair. "All that is mine is yours now, Caroline."

Klaus proceeds to show her the remaining rooms on Rebekah's side of the floor, both are made up as guest rooms but are rarely ever used. Klaus starts to walk back to their room — _their room_ — and Caroline bumps into his back when he stops just in front of the room he'd ignored earlier.

"What's wrong?" she asks, touching his back and feeling the muscles tensing up under his shirt. "Klaus?"

Without saying a word, Klaus turns the doorknob and pushes the door open. It creaks slightly, as if it hadn't been opened for years. And maybe it hasn't.

The room is small and pink, with stars hanging on strings painted on the walls. A small set of table and chairs sit on one corner, while a closed trunk sits on another. Narrow shelves line either side of the window seat, pink cushions and throw pillows arranged neatly in one line leaning against the window frame.

In the very middle of the room sits a small white cot with pink crisp sheets. Everything looks brand new.

— — — — —

The ride to the airport is very tense to say the least. Klaus drives quietly, feeling tired and moody from the events of the day, and it isn't even noon yet. Caroline sits on her bare feet that are tucked under her in the passenger seat, her right elbow resting on the window. The windows of Klaus' black Chevy truck are heavily tinted, and the morning sky looks dark from where she sits.

Perhaps it has nothing to do with the windows and everything to do with the roaring mess that is her head at this moment. She certainly did not expect things to go in this direction when she woke up snuggled happily next to Klaus. Was that merely a few hours ago, when she woke up from her most restful sleep in months?

She starts chewing on her nails as she discreetly studies Klaus from his reflection on her window; she's glad she isn't that steering wheel right now. She shifts quietly in her seat before closing her eyes and replaying their conversation earlier.

_"Whose room is this?" Caroline asks, stepping closer to the door and leaning against the doorjamb._

_"My daughter's."__The words hang heavy in the air for what feels like an eternity before he speaks again.__"At least it was going to be."__Caroline opens her mouth several times, a different question forming around her lips each time, but she doesn't know where to begin.__When? Who? How?__She is spared having to say anything by Klaus, however, as he takes her elbow and gently pulls her away from the room.__"Neither she nor her mother made it through childbirth," he continues solemnly as he closes the door.__She can feel tears forming around her eyes for some reason, and she takes several deep breaths to compose herself. She does not understand this reaction. Is she hurt? Disappointed that he hadn't spent the last decade pining for her after all? Is she angry?__Looking up at him drives all these thoughts away immediately; the look on Klaus' face is enough to make her feel ashamed for even feeling that way for a second. She steps closer to him and wraps her arms around his waist, sighing heavily as she rests her head on his shoulder.__"I'm sorry," she whispers before kissing his neck gently. "I'm so sorry, Klaus."__His arms wind around her shoulders tightly, and they stand still in that hallway until it's time to start getting ready to leave.__—_"In the end, I think the baby's death was what drove my siblings away," Klaus mutters out of the blue, and Caroline's eyes pop open. "Rebekah ran as far as she could, and Elijah couldn't stand to stay in that house any longer."

"But _you_ stayed," she mutters, confused. "I don't get it."

"They wanted that baby as much as I did," he answers, his fingers gripping the wheel tighter. "Sometimes I suspect they wanted it more. Elijah saw it as another chance to unite our family, and Bekah… The baby meant Rebekah's only chance at feeling human again. A chance to play mother to someone who was actually her own blood."

He turns to look at her when they stop at a red light, but Caroline stares straight ahead. She knows looking at his face will only make her cry again; she can't stand his sadness anymore.

"It was a one-time dalliance, Caroline," he says quickly, the apology loud in his voice. "An indiscretion I made when I thought you would never feel for me the way I felt for you. And it didn't change anything, it only made me angry at myself."

Caroline looks at him then, brows furrowed in confusion. She shakes her head wordlessly and takes his hand in hers.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Klaus," she chokes, unable to stop the tears now. "I was the one who took my sweet time getting my head where it is now, and I had to wait until I was staring death in the face before I found you again. _You lost your daughter._ I can't even imagine going through anything like that."

"Why are you crying, then?" he asks, feeling confused himself.

"I just can't stand to think about you in that kind of pain," she whispers, dropping her head and wiping her tears away with her free hand. "It's hard to see the people you love in pain."

She looks up suddenly, her eyes wide, lip caught between her teeth. Klaus' mouth is hanging open, afraid to say anything that might ruin the moment. Caroline laughs through her tears then, pulling his face with both of her hands and kissing him deeply.

"I love you, Klaus," she whispers when they pull apart. "I have for a long time now."

Klaus captures her mouth with his again then, feeling as if his chest is going to burst, and ignores the cars honking as the light turns green.

"Bonnie!" Caroline calls as she opens her door before the truck has even pulled to a complete stop. "Oh my god, Bonnie!"

Bonnie smiles widely and hugs Caroline tightly, forgetting about her suitcase for a moment when her best friend refuses to let her go.

"I can't believe you're here," Caroline squeals, rocking them from side to side like a roly poly.

Bonnie looks warily over at Klaus who's just stepping out of the driver's side of the huge truck, and returns his smile tentatively. She isn't used to seeing that face without wanting to kill it. She steps back slightly when Caroline finally lets her go and her brown eyes look her up and down, as if checking for any signs of injury.

"You look good," she says in amazement.

"Well don't sound too surprised, Bon!" Caroline teases, reaching behind her and grabbing her suitcase easily. She loops her arm around Bonnie's and starts walking towards the truck.

"I just mean," Bonnie starts, but Caroline shushes her.

"I know, I know," she says, smiling at Klaus when he opens the door for Bonnie, then tossing the suitcase at the back.

"Hello, Bonnie," Klaus greets as Bonnie climbs into the truck. "It's very good to see you."

"Klaus," Bonnie answers before he closes the door between them. She is going to have to get used to this. She watches Klaus help Caroline to her seat, watches the way they smile at each other, and she realizes it won't take her that long.

Caroline turns around in her seat just as Klaus closes the door to his side of the truck and starts driving away from the airport.

"What do you want to see first?" Caroline asks excitedly, looking at her like a little girl.

"Caroline, love, let the girl catch her breath first," Klaus chuckles, reaching over and tucking a strand of Caroline's hair behind her ear.

"Shush!" Caroline hisses, tapping his hand away playfully. "Just drive."

"Yes, ma'am," he laughs, turning his eyes back on the road.

"What about it, Bon?" Caroline pushes. "I haven't seen much of the place either, we can do it together."

"That sounds really lovely, Caroline," Bonnie answers seriously. "But you know that's not what I came here for. I'm here so we can kill that son-of-a-bitch that cursed you."

"I've always loved the way you think, Bonnie," Klaus smiles, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

They sit in Klaus' sitting room less than an hour later, Caroline tucked like a little girl under Klaus' protective arm on one couch, while Bonnie sits across from them. Klaus has sent word to Sophie and Elijah that the Bennett witch is in town and requested their presence at the mansion. Whatever Bonnie has planned, another powerful witch and an Original vampire can't hurt.

"They're here," he mutters, kissing the top of Caroline's head affectionately. "Finally, we can start."

Caroline and Bonnie turn to look at the front door as it opens, and in steps Sophie Devereaux, accompanied by the always elegant Elijah.

"Bonnie," Elijah greets, extending his hand as Bonnie stands up. "I hope your trip down to New Orleans was a pleasant one."

"It was. Thank you, Elijah," Bonnie answers, feeling a little awkward. The Original's manners always make her a little uncomfortable, but he is the only Mikaelson she finds even slightly trustworthy.

"I'd like you to meet Sophie Devereaux," he gestures towards his companion. "The grand high witch of New Orleans."

"Please!" Sophie says dismissively, shaking her head and extending her hand to Bonnie. "That's just something Klaus made up. I can't tell you how honored I am to meet a Bennett witch."

"Wow! Really?" Bonnie answers incredulously as they shake hands. "Why?"

"Are you kidding?" Sophie laughs, pulling Bonnie down on the couch again. "You're a descendant of Qetsiyah, probably the most powerful witch of all time! Not to mention your own…activities. Witches talk, as you may well know."

"Yes, and apparently witches don't know when to stop either," Klaus mutters lazily, rolling his eyes at the witches. He smiles sweetly when Caroline elbows him, before addressing the witches again. "Shall we get on, then?"

"Forgive my brother, ladies," Elijah says, settling himself down on the armchair by the fireplace. "His manners need a bit of touching up, I'm afraid."

"_Forgive_ _me_ if I'm anxious to learn more about killing—and I'm borrowing Bonnie's exact words here—the son-of-a-bitch who cursed our little Caroline."

"Right!" Sophie says suddenly, as if the reason for this gathering had slipped her mind. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bogart this meeting. Tell us what you've found out."

"Well, it took me a while to gather all of this," Bonnie starts, reaching into her bag and taking out several grimoires and notebooks. "Caroline didn't know a whole lot about the guy so I didn't have much to go on. First, I started with his name."

"Yes," Klaus interrupts, sitting up in excitement. "And what _is_ this name?"

Bonnie looks at Caroline, who rolls her eyes at the back of Klaus' head.

"Jackson Wolfe," the witch answers, ignoring the way Klaus and Elijah's eyes find each other triumphantly. "Which doesn't sound Egyptian at all, so I assumed it's not his real name. Anyway, it's all I had when I went to Egypt—"

"You went to Egypt?!" Caroline asks suddenly. "Bonnie!"

"Of course I went to Egypt, _Caroline!" _Bonnie shoots back, emphasizing her name like she's talking to a little girl. "Did you really expect me to just sit around braiding my hair? _Anyway_, if everyone is done interrupting me…"

She waits and looks around the room, and when she is convinced they are all ready to listen, she continues.

"It wasn't that hard to find him once I was there. I brought your old sweater with me—you know, the blue one with the dots you lent me when I stayed over at your place?—and used a modified locator spell to pinpoint the spots you spent time in. Then I pretty much just sat around those spots until someone that matched your description showed up."

"So was he really hot?" Sophie asks, causing the men to groan and Caroline to snigger.

"Oh yeah," Bonnie answers quickly. "As much as I hate to admit it. Anyway, once I confirmed with a few locals that that was Jackson Wolfe, I started to follow him."

She opens one of the big books that she's laid on the coffee table in front of her and rifles through the old pages.

"I studied his every move, talked to the people living around his place, eavesdropped when I could. I even found a witch who had a shop nearby who was only too willing to share what she knew about the guy, and eventually, I pieced together enough parts of the puzzle to confirm his true identity."

"Who is he then, Sherlock?" Caroline asks, trying not to show how proud she is of her best friend's skills. She watches as Bonnie flips to a page she earmarked previously and leans closer to the table. Elijah already moved to stand next to Bonnie when she first opened the book, and they all lean in now to get a better look.

"Everyone, meet Jackson Wolfe," she starts, pointing her finger at a crude drawing of a man with a canine head. "Better known as Anubis."

**A/N: Finally! We learn more about this curse and the "person" who cast it. This story is about to turn into a TVD/TO/SPN one soon. Haha hope you guys enjoyed this update. This is the last of the ones I previously posted on Tumblr, so the next chapter might not be up for a while, what with the holidays lurking around the corner and all.**


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